Intro to Traditional Yuletide Festivities
by cgkm2099z
Summary: Schmoopy Christmas ficlet. Merry Happy, everyone!


"Good night, Jeff, Merry Christmas! Thanks for hosting." Britta gave him a peck on the cheek as she pulled out of the hug.

"No problem." Jeff glanced out the glass storm door to where the vague silhouettes of Troy and Abed were engaged in a fierce clash of red and blue lightsabers. "You uh, sure you'll be ok getting home?"

Britta's gaze followed his out the door, and a brief look of disquiet passed over her. "I think so- oh, here's Troy's driver now." A pair of piercingly bright headlights turned into the driveway, and Troy lowered his lightsaber to wave at the driver of the stretched black limousine. No sooner had Troy dipped his blue saber than Abed's red one struck like a viper, connecting with the back of Troy's head.

"Oh!" Britta and Jeff exclaimed in unison.

"Umm…" Britta mused as Troy crumpled to the ground, clutching the back of his head as Abed stood over him. "Maybe I'll sit up front and keep Jerry company."

"Good idea." Jeff opened the door and stepped out to hold it open for Britta while she picked up the bags that were mostly filled with various things Troy and Abed had bought for each other. As it turned out, money (whether inherited from Pierce or earned as a rising directorial star) didn't make you any more mature, it just increased the volume, complexity and cost of the toys you could buy.

Britta lugged the overstuffed bags to where Troy was groaning on the ground. "Abed, that was dangerous!"

"The Sith show no mercy. He was unwise to lower his defenses."

Britta frowned disapprovingly at Abed and knelt next to Troy. "Troy, are you alright?"

"Yeah… I'm ok." Troy let go of his head and rose unsteadily to his feet. "I think I've had enough lightsabers for now though." He turned towards Abed and eyed him, his jaw clenched tightly. "Why you slimy, double-crossing, no good swindler! You got a lot of guts coming here, after what you pulled."

Abed dropped his lightsaber and pointed to himself, the very picture of the world's most innocent scoundrel. Troy advanced towards him slowly, then in a flash he feinted as if to hit Abed. Abed's arms rose defensively, and they paused for a brief moment before shifting seamlessly into their signature handshake.

Jeff could practically hear Britta's eyes rolling as the boys jumped into the limo, already deep into an imaginary blaster fight. The driver helped her load the bags and lightsabers into the trunk before they each took seats up front.

"Merry Christmas guys!" Jeff called out as he waved at the departing limousine.

The car backed out of the driveway, and a window in the back of the limo slid open. "MERRY CHRISTMAS JEFF!" Troy and Abed shouted in unison as the car began to pull away.

Jeff watched the car disappear down the street, until at last the frigid temperatures had him shivering too much to take. He stepped back inside, closing the door behind him, and stopped to survey the fallout from the day's activities. The normally pathologically neat living room was littered with empty boxes, unsorted presents, as well as bits of wrapping paper and bows that hadn't made it into the trash bags he'd placed so strategically around the room. And then, of course, there were the pine needles. He still wasn't sure what fit of madness had convinced him to get a real tree this year.

He glanced at his watch and decided that cleanup would have to wait. Compared to the Greendale Christmas celebration, the actual day of Christmas was bound to be relatively low key, and that was fine by him. As he strolled through the dining room towards the kitchen, he caught sight of one of Ben's toy cars that had rolled under the table and added it to his mental list of things he needed to return. Shirley, Andre and the boys had left a few hours earlier to catch the 11 pm Christmas Eve service at their church, but several items had been overlooked during their mad rush to make it out the door on time.

Once in the kitchen, Jeff loaded the dishwasher with as much as would fit and started it running. One look at the sink full of pots, pans, and serving dishes, however, and suddenly the idea of bed sounded too good to resist. He stifled a yawn as he trudged up the stairs to the bathroom, where he went through his normal routine of brushing his teeth, gargling with mouthwash, and using his exfoliating facial scrub.

His nightly ritual complete, he flipped off the lights and made his way to the bedroom where he quickly and quietly undressed. He slid carefully between the silk sheets of the king-sized bed, trying his best not to-

"Hey…" a lazy voice murmured in the darkness, "did everyone leave?"

"Yeah," he said softly, while silently berating himself for not being quieter.

"Sorry I couldn't stay up longer…" the voice mumbled, "I just get so exhausted..."

"It's ok," he said gently, "everyone understands. Besides, you know how it is, there's no telling how long Troy and Abed's Inspector Spacetime reenactments will take, so no one blames you for escaping. I'm lucky it's only midnight."

A sleepy laugh followed by a deep breath was the only response. He slid over towards the other side of the bed where his wife lay; quickly returning to the dreams he had temporarily interrupted.

His wife.

It had been the better part of a year, but he still hadn't really gotten used to it. And after so many years of sleeping alone on Christmas Eve, now, for the first time, he'd be sleeping next to his wife. He placed his arm around her as his head sank onto the pillow next to hers, earning a satisfied hum from the (mostly) sleeping form next to him.

His eyes grew heavy as his mind replayed the events of the day: family, friends, food, presents (the good and the comically bad), games… Once upon a time it was a life he'd never envisioned for himself, but now he wouldn't trade it for anything.

"Jeff?" The whispered voice startled him away from the precipice of sleep and his eyes snapped open. "Merry Christmas."

His eyes focused on the clock on the nightstand, its display resolutely proclaiming the time: 12:00 am.

"Merry Christmas Annie," he whispered back. His hand drifted down to the curve of her belly, unconsciously stroking the soft, taut skin until he was rewarded with a kick from one of the occupants. He briefly wondered which one it was, the girl or the boy. Probably the girl, if she was anything like her mother.

As he drifted back towards sleep, he once again reflected on all the gifts the day had brought – the smiles, the laughs, the brief moments of calm amidst the flurry of craziness… Yet for all the presents given and received, and for all the presents as yet ungiven, it was here and now, in this little moment, that Jeff held in his arms all the gifts he'd ever need.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


End file.
